​
Land Arts of the American West (LAAW) program at University of New Mexico
is going into its 15th year of programming, providing students with unique
opportunities to experiment within a field-based artistic practice, while
being embedded in place/s of the American Southwest.

The Fall 2014 LAAW field itinerary will explore the topic of Watershed,
including investigations of water relations in the Southwest and a
collaborative field-based project with ecological restoration expert, Joel
Glanzberg. Students will travel and camp throughout the Rio Grande
Watershed, from its headwaters to the US/Mexico Border, explore Gila River
riparian ecology, and spend time with the Dixon Water Foundation in the
Marfa Basin.

During the semester, students conduct research, engage in field
investigations, undertake creative artistic projects, and complete a final
exhibition of their works.

Students of the Creating Change course (co-taught by Catherine Harris, Szu-Han Ho, and Andrea Polli) are working in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque from Feb 27-Apr 7, 2014 to produce collaborative projects with the following organizations: Working Classroom, Barelas Senior Center, Encuentro, and the Market Railyard!

Students of the “Creating Change” course (co-taught by Catherine Harris, Szu-Han Ho, and Andrea Polli) will travel to Marfa, Tx to work on collaborative projects with a class from Geneva University of Art + Design. Feb 12-21, 2014.

The Land Arts of the American West program is happy to announce the receipt of a five year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the creation of the Land Arts Mobile Research Center (LAMRC). Funds provided will support graduate student and faculty research, as well as publication and a visiting artist/scholar program at UNM. Professor Bill Gilbert will serve as the initial director of the LAMRC. Asst Research Professor Jeanette Hart-Mann will assume the leadership role of the Land Arts of the American West field program while a national search is conducted for a permanent director. In year three of the grant, the LAMRC will search for a new director to serve as Professor Gilbert’s replacement.

Our thanks to Mariet Westermann and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Board for the award of this grant.

HDTS 2013 will take place along 700 miles of desert road from Joshua Tree, CA to Albuquerque, NM from October 12-19th, 2013. Check out A&E contributors: Catherine Harris, Nina Dubois, and Alex Webb will present “Dusty Inflatables” in Montessa Park, Albuquerque // Andrea Polli and Ellen Babcock will present “Tradewinds Sign Rally” next to the Octopus Car Wash on Route 66!! http://www.highdeserttestsites.com/events/hdts-2013

“High Desert Test Sites supports experimental art that engages with the local environment and community. We generate physical and conceptual spaces for art exploring the intersections between contemporary art and life at large. Scattered along a stretch of intimate yet diverse desert communities that include Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Wonder Valley, Yucca Valley, and 29 Palms, our sites provide a place for both fleeting and long-term experimental projects.

HDTS was first conceived of eleven years ago as an experimental forum for merging contemporary art with life at large. Since 2002, we have hosted more than 200 artists, architects, designers, desert doers, and other inspirational figures. The HDTS HQ in downtown Joshua Tree opened in 2010 and offers info and driving maps to our local sites, a desert research library, project archives, workshops, and the HDTS Life Enhancement Shop. Recently we also added the HDTS Scout residence program, and In October we are hosting HDTS 2013, our biggest event ever – with more than 60 projects along over 700 miles of desert roads, from Joshua Tree to Albuquerque. “

Creating Change 2.0 will be going to Green River, UT March 9-17 2013 to work with Epicenter, as part of their Frontier program. We will be working with high school students to create an art and biology collaboration, modeling seeds important to Green River in larger than life scale inflatable architecture.

From High Country News – an Article about the REU – Research Experiences for Undergraduates – program at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge and Long Term Ecological Research site. Apply for the 2013 summer’s internship! High Country News Article

ISEA2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness is a symposium and series of events exploring the discourse of global proportions on the subject of art, technology and nature. The ISEA symposium is held every year in a different location around the world, and has a 30-year history of significant acclaim. Albuquerque is the first host city in the U.S. in six years.